Riddle Me
by wheezym
Summary: Laurena Lorone is an extremely intelligent Ravenclaw, who can solve any problem or riddle. But when Tom Riddle comes into her life, will she be able to figure him out? Laurena tells her story of the time when she really knew Tom Riddle, when she fought for her life in the midst of extreme danger, and how she fell in love along the way. TR/OC
1. Chapter 1

((A.N. Welcome to my first fan fiction ever! I'm not really sure how this works or anything so let's hope it goes okay. Before you judge, remember it's my first attempt at this ever. I don't know how often I'm going to update or anything but most likely two chapters at a time. I apologize ahead of time for future spelling/grammar mistakes. And please review! Constructive criticism is encouraged! Enjoy then, haha.#)

Disclaimer: I don't own any part of Harry Potter or plan to make profit off this story. All belongs to the beautiful and amazing J.K. Rowling.

* * *

Laurena Lorone awoke on Monday morning at 9:00 o'clock sharp. Bright sun fell into her eyes and told her a beautiful spring morning shined outside.

May 2nd. 21 years.

Laurena made her small bed and opened the curtains to gaze out into the busy world. Everything was moving; she could see children in the park across the way playing their games happily, birds and owls swooping, chattering mothers and fathers and pedestrians, excitement, love, and hope filled the air on this holiday.

21 years ago, Lord Voldemort was defeated.

It was bittersweet. _No one knew what he was. Only what he had become._ Laurena's thoughts mused. She watched the sun sparkle and glimmer through the fluffy clouds.

There wasn't a soul in the wizarding world who did not know of this monumental day. Especially one boy. Laurena thought to herself again.

After tiring of waiting and watching at the window, Laurena walked slowly to her wardrobe. On the outside, the simple closet was seemingly small but modest. But with a simple Extending charm, the inside was a glorious cavern.

Laurena made her way into this dark space. The inside was her closet but it was as large and cavernous as a tunnel, filled with her secrets. She made her way down the hall of it. It was dark but for the occasional flash of moving images on the newspaper and magazine clippings that completely covered every inch of the walls.

As she made her way down to the end, headlines and words from newspapers past long ago popped out to her.

_The Dark Lord Rises! He-who-must-not-be-named is back! The World of Muggles is Threatened! The Dark Lord Overtakes the Ministry! Death by He-who-must-not-be-named!_

These words swam into Laurena's eyesight and thoughts as she walked to reach the end of the closet. At last, she came upon the end, where a desk lay against the wall. It was dark save for the small light emanating from the silver necklace on the desk.

Laurena took the heart-shaped trinket into her hands and stared at it. The same words she loved, remembered, and longed for were in her eyesight once again. The light that shone magically from the inside of the locket breathed soft spectrums and waves of color onto her wrinkled face.

It was time.

Laurena sat down at the small desk and reached for the blank parchment that lay there. Into the ink bottle went her pen and onto the parchment inscribed _"Dear Mr. Potter_,"...

* * *

A beautiful day was promised. The sun had yet to slip behind its curtain of clouds and abandon the land. There was warmth, but not too much. There was wind, but not too much.

With a loud crack in the still air, the Potter family Apparated onto the grassy fields of the Burrow.

"I hate Apparating!" exclaimed Albus wearily, clutching his stomach, sickened by the motion.

"Oh quiet, you'll have to learn some day." said Ginny Potter to her son. "Come on now, we're already late, and your grandmother is probably going to flip."

The quaint little family of five began walking up the hill to the massive house that stood in front of them.

While his children bickered on the way, and his wife tried to settle them down, Harry Potter thought quietly to himself.

It was a beautiful day, doubtless, and an even more amazing event hung in the air. The 21st anniversary of the unforgettable day. And spent at the Burrow, Harry's second favorite place in the whole world, what more could he ask for?

But it wasn't about the event or the location. In fact, those things had not been on Harry's mind the past few days. He was troubled by the small glass flask that was hidden in his jean pocket.

Mrs. Weasley was at the door with embraces and kisses when the family arrived. Still occupied in his own thoughts, Harry hardly noticed when the red-haired woman interlocked him into a celebrating hug.

Albus, James, and Lily tittered and screeched with excitement when they saw that the inside of the house was filled with all of their favorite guests. Ron Weasley, Hermione Weasley, their two children, Teddy Lupin, Neville Longbottom, all of the Weasley uncles, the Weasley grandparents, and a few other close family friends were among them.

All were gathered in commemoration of Harry Potter's spectacular triumph on this special school and work holiday.

Yet the guest of honor was not even in any acknowledgement of the present situation surrounding him. While the rest of his family and friends socialized, Harry strayed to the corner as a wallflower, thinking to himself.

Harry did his best to drown out the loud chatter in the background. He moved to an open window in the kitchen and looked out into the distance. The spring afternoon still glowed and felt pleasantly warm

Suddenly, Harry saw a large owl come into view. It flew fast and seemed intent on reaching its destination violently. The owl reached the windowsill with a sickening thud seconds later and dropped a small white envelope on the floor addressed to: Mr. Harry Potter.

Stunned but reluctantly predicting the contents, Harry picked up the letter and opened it hastily.

As he finished reading the letter, Harry's face began to turn white and sickly pale. The letter fell out of his nervous hands and he quickly retrieved it and called out meekly to Ron and Hermione.

After a third bellow across the house to his friends and a comment from George ("Even I heard that"), Ron and Hermione finally heard. Swiftly, they made their way over to their sickened-looking friend.

"What's wrong Harry?" Hermione asked in a concerned voice. The middle-aged wrinkles in her forehead deepened slightly.

Harry only held out the letter for her to take. Unsure, but curious, Hermione took it, opened it, and began to read the contents to the still stunned-looking Harry and the confused-looking Ron.

"Dear Mr. Potter,

Now I am sure you have received the package I sent a few days ago and must be in shock. I assure you no one shall be harmed; it is not dangerous. I do indeed, have a piece of Lord Voldemort's soul. It has been in my possession for over 75 years. I do not wish to cause harm with such a thing, I only wish to share my story. If you would like to see the piece and hear this story, come to the address printed on the envelope. I am sure you will find my recollections something to wonder.

Sincerely and without a doubt,

Laurena Melinda Lorone"

Hermione looked at Harry with relief and laughed softly. "It's just a joke, Harry," she assured. "You have loads of fans and I'm sure they love to make things up to catch your attention."

But Harry could not be comforted by her words. For once, he knew more than Hermione.

"Ron, does your mother have a pensieve here?" Harry asked Ron.

"Uh, I think she has one in the basement. It's kind of old though. Why?" came Ron's reply.

Harry made no sound. He began to navigate to the back of the house, where he knew the basement stairs stood. It took a while to get through the mass of party guests craving his attention, but Harry finally arrived. He turned around to see his two best friends right behind him with looks of bewilderment on their faces.

Harry opened the door and he, Ron, and Hermione made their way down the creaking steps. The basement light was blown out but a little sun peeked in through the small window there and gave a fragment of light.

Harry looked around the gray, dusty, moldy, and forlorn room until he caught sight of a quite tarnished and dusty stone basin. He reached for it and blew some of the dust off. It looked like it was still functioning.

Harry looked at his friends and spoke. "You need to see this." He then took out the flask from his pocket and poured the liquid-gas shaped contents into the pensieve. Immediately, the basin glowed silver and the substance within began swimming with images and memories.

Harry then dipped his head within, followed by Ron and Hermione. The scene then changed.

The three were now in a dark, familiar-looking stone encased area. The ground was quite wet and behind them stood a large pool of water and a larger carving of Salazar Slytherin.

They were in the Chamber of Secrets.

Ron and Hermione made this recognition and stared straight ahead with shock at two figures nine or ten feet in front of them.

One person, a girl it seemed, lay curled up and weak on the damp stone floor. The other was a pale, dark-haired boy standing, towering rather, a little in front of her holding a small necklace in the palm of his hand.

The girl on the floor tried with all her strength to lift her head up and speak, but clearly she was in too weak a state for such.

She watched the boy with a pair of sad gray eyes and with all of her might managed to mutter, "Tom... T-t-t... om..."

The boy glanced at her and saw her body weaken. Suddenly, he reached under his shirt and pulled out something that could only be described as a glowing blue ball. It looked like the inside of a light bulb, only this glowed a sickly vein-blue color.

The boy then took the ball and shoved it around the silver necklace he had in his hand. The necklace flew out of his fingers and flung itself into the air. A blinding flash of light ensued, blinding all occupants of the place for a moment, and then it whisked away. The Chamber came back into view and the necklace floated slowly back down into the hands of its owner. Only now, the necklace was shining much brighter and seemed to secrete a ghostly aura of illumination.

As if the thing was possessed. As if the thing was just implanted with a fragment of a soul.

The girl on the floor saw all of the transpiration just as she slipped into unconsciousness. The boy put the necklace into the pocket of his cloak and smiled softly.

The scene then slipped away into a wisp of gray, the images disappeared, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione were back in the dark basement of the Burrow.

Ron and Hermione stood silent as graves for a minute. The two looked at one another alarmingly. "Harry where did you get that?" Hermione asked, trying to steady her voice.

"I got it anonymously in the mail about three days ago. At first I wasn't sure. I have never gotten anything like this before. But I am pretty sure that this is real."

"But," Hermione replied. "Surely it's a trick? A memory tampered with to make you see something fake?" But everyone could hear the uncertainty in her voice.

Harry had seen loads of memories. As an Auror, it was part of his job to analyze them closely. It was easy to distinguish the real ones; they were more vivid, had more color, they simply felt more real. A fake memory was easy to spot; there wasn't even a stable or correct spell to tamper or change a certain memory. Whatever was sent in that flask was one hundred percent real.

"I guess we have to go." Ron said softly.

"Of course we're going." Harry said roughly. "I know my scar hasn't hurt and I haven't had visions for years. I-I... I mean it could be nothing."

He was silent for a moment, musing to himself. But logic got the best of him.

"But this is, is-is- disturbing. Another horcrux? This wasn't any locket, any cup, any diadem; it was something completely different. We can't waste time. Give me the envelope, we're going to the address."

And after pondering Harry's words for a bit, the two decided to do as Harry said. It wouldn't do good to argue with Harry when he is sure of something, Ron and Hermione knew. And they had no idea of the danger imposed.

So, in a quick midst of time, the gang formed an somewhat believable alibi to their departure, and Apparated to the said address.

* * *

When Harry opened his eyes, Diagon Alley replaced the Burrow. The sun still hung in the air and glowed brightly on the spring day.

Observing his surroundings a little more, Harry concluded that the three had arrived in a secluded area of Diagon Alley, where a broomstick store, owlrey, tea house, and a dragon scale cleaning shop stood.

Harry's attention was immediately caught by the large and flowery sign of the tea place; it read _"Lorone's"_ in thick cursive letters.

The sender of the letter. Without waiting for his friends, Harry entered the place.

It was quite empty. And also quite small. But the white place was pleasant, with a few table settings and a small bar. Everything was white, but it looked spotless and clean. And with the sunlight streaming in through the little windows, the place looked like a tea house in heaven.

Hermione and Ron followed in through the glass door behind Harry. As soon as they came in, another person entered the room from a small door in the back.

A tall old woman came to greet the three of them. She smiled and said, "Hello. I'm glad you've decided to come. Sit, please."

She motioned to a table nearby.

No one spoke. The three took their seats while the woman slipped away and returned with a tray of tea. Harry watched her pour the tea into teacups. Her movements were rather quick and sharp for an old woman. In fact, only her wrinkles and her age lines showed she was senile. From far away she could have looked younger; her long beautiful hair was raven black and fell down her back in perfect waves. Her gray eyes still had a glimmer of youthful light in them as she looked upon them.

This was the woman from the memory.

The woman then offered them tea which they first politely refused, but then indulged in when tasting it and realizing it was delicious. In fact, they had finished one cup of it before anyone had a chance to speak.

The woman laughed and poured them more, murmuring that her grandmother's specialty was certainly something.

Then she sat across from then and spoke. "I am Laurena Lorone, as you might have guessed. Thank you for coming. It's a glorious thing to have three wonderfully inspiring heroes here in my presence. I-"

"What is this bloody thing?" Ron blurted out.

"Are we in danger?" Hermione asked.

"Please just tell us why we're here." Harry said.

The tension was palpable.

Laurena sighed softly and continued. "I know you are curious. I will show you the horcrux, but I called you all here to tell the story behind it first. "

No one objected. They _were _all quite curious.

Laurena sensed this and smiled as she began her story.

"You see I knew Voldemort when he was Tom Riddle..."


	2. Chapter 2

Eleven year-old Laurena Lorone awaited the arrival of the Hogwarts Express. King's Cross was bustling with people and emotions.

It was September 1st, the first day back to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. And for some, it would be their first day there ever. Laurena was one of them.

She stood quietly with her small trunk at the stop. Unlike the other occupants, she was alone and quiet. Everyone else was loud and talkative as they said goodbye to their parents and promised to send letters and do well in their classes.

Laurena wondered if she was the only one there alone.

After a few more minutes, the coveted train made its arrival onto the platform. The train was loaded, families were kissed goodbye, and the massive amount of students were loaded onto the train.

And it set off towards Hogwarts, the excitement of the new year coming with it.

Laurena knew no one, so she sat by herself in a compartment on the huge train. Time went by in a flash as she stared out the window into the fading day.

She didn't seem notice the small pair of dark eyes that watched her through the window of the compartment.

It was dark by the time the train skidded to its stop at Hogwarts. Laurena felt her heart beating as she got off the train with the mass of students. The back of her black robes was itching her neck like crazy and kept messing up her tangled locks of hair.

When she reached the outside she could see it was fairly dark. Students big and small were going left and right, getting onto carriages, packing their trunks. Then suddenly she heard a voice.

"First years! First years! Over here! First years! Come to the lake!"

Laurena followed the instructions and came to another pack of students, only this group was just as small as her and looked just as frightened.

They all surrounded the Black Lake and a load of boats. The owner of the voice towered over them. He was a burly middle-aged man with a funny-looking mustache.

The man introduced himself as Professor Slughorn. He then explained, "Welcome, all. Welcome to your first year at Hogwarts. We will be rowing to the castle. Please get into a boat with no more than four. Then take an oar and I will lead the way."

Laurena heard an abrupt snort come from behind her. She spun around and saw a small, sneering dark-haired boy.

"Ridiculous, isn't it?" he said haughtily. They lead us like we're a pack of dogs."

"Well, we don't know our way around here." Laurena said. "They're showing us."

"Hah! More like pulling us on a leash. I could find my own way there."

"Well, I don't know how you would do that, so we should probably start getting into the boats, everyone's leav-"

But Laurena cut herself off when she saw the boy heading into the opposite direction, heading straight for the nearby forest.

Laurena tried to call after him, but to no avail. He was far into the trees. And everyone began to climb into the boats and get ready to set off.

It was either to get on a boat like a smart person would, or chase after a stupid boy she didn't even know to make sure he didn't get killed.

Cursing her concerned and worried emotions, Laurena sprinted quickly out of sight and followed the boy into the dark forest.

* * *

As soon as Laurena arrived in the vicinity of the forest, every other sound around her was cut off. It was like she had transported into another world.

It was darker in the forest. It almost seemed to secrete the inky blackness that formed into the night. All Laurena could make out was the faint outline of trees and pale moonlight that slunk between them. She began to regret her hasty, ill-thought out decision.

Just ahead, she could faintly see the silhouette of a small boy walking steadily among the darkness. She hurried to catch up with him.

When Laurena finally reached the boy, she tapped him lightly on the shoulder. He jumped in fright and spun around.

His terrified look softened when he saw that the mystery tapper was just Laurena.

"You scared half the life out of me. What are you doing here? Who are you?" he said with a cold sneer.

Laurena's eyes narrowed into slits. "Just making sure you aren't getting killed. I apologize for my concern." she replied bitterly.

The boy looked away with a smirk. "I'm fine on my own," he said nastily. "You can just go back to the wee boats and be a good girl like everyone else. I told you, I'll find my own way there."

Laurena, offended by the boy's blunt manners and lack of gratefulness, scoffed and turned back to walk the other way.

She looked for an exit from the forest, but everything surrounding her just looked like trees. Her heart began to pound in her chest. The darkness just seemed to deepen. Out of the corner of her eye she saw something move. And just to the left, another flash of movement. She came to the startling realization that she was not alone.

Laurena began to abandon hope of finding her original exit and ran straight forward through the trees in fear.

The deeper she ran into the forest, the darker it became, and the more lost and scared Laurena became. She looked around hopelessly and abruptly heard a whimpering noise from just behind her.

She turned around slowly and saw the boy from before with an expression of pure terror. But it was not directed at her. Instead, it was faced towards something just behind her.

When Laurena turned to look, she saw the most frightening this she had ever seen in her life. A few yards away stood a large, hairy, and monstrous looking wolf-like animal.

She stood frozen in her place as she watched the scraggly, brown-furred werewolf, twice her size, scope out the area with large yellow eyes, a thick black nose, and razor sharp claws.

Evidently, it had not seen her or the boy, as it spotted a rabbit and began to occupy itself with tearing it apart.

But that still did not stop her from running in fear. She hid herself behind a rather large tree that appeared just in the distance. Seconds later, she was joined by the boy.

His frightened expression mirrored hers as they stared silently at each other in terror and disbelief.

And suddenly the leaves and branches on the forest floor began to snap. Laurena felt her heart seize up into her throat.

A heavy, inhuman breathing ensued and seemed to envelope them from everywhere. The monstrous thing had sensed them and was now seeking them out.

Laurena silently panicked, as thought of the fact that she was just seconds away from a bloody death. Neither of them could move, without being attacked, and they had no idea of how to exit the blasted forest. Just as the breathing and cracking of leaves got closer, Laurena remembered something.

She took her wand out of her pocket and pointed at a medium sized rock on the ground and muttered, "Differo."

Then, with all her might, she thrust the spell in the opposite direction. The rock followed, and flew far across the large forest, landing with a loud sonic boom some kilometers away.

The boom of the rock was so loud, it knocked both Laurena and the boy off their feet. The werewolf then abandoned pursuit of the two and bolted off howling in the direction of the rock.

Once it was out of their vicinity, Laurena got to her feet and brushed the leaves off of herself. The boy did the same.

He looked at Laurena with both curiosity and disdain. "What's your name?" he asked, slightly out of breath.

"Laurena." she breathed.

"Bloody. Well thanks then, Laurena."

"Of course"

"I'm Tom, by the way."

"Fantastic."

Tom frowned at the obvious sarcasm in her voice. The two began to walk in the same direction in search of an exit. Then Laurena remembered something else.

She pointed her wand out straight in front of her and mumbled, "Emigro." Instantly, the tip of her wand glowed golden and hovered itself out of her hand. It then turned itself to the immediate left and began to float in that direction.

"Come on." Laurena directed, as she followed the moving wand. Tom came up behind her shortly and they followed her wand a small distance through the dark trees.

After a few minutes, Laurena's wand ceased to glow and fell back into her hands. At this point, they were just at the end of the forest and could see an exit into the outside about a meter ahead. Without a thought, the pair made their way through and finally reached the outside.

It seemed less dark, although it was deep in the evening. The pale moon seemed as bright as a summer sun. Laurena realized that she had just crossed Hogwarts' infamous Forbidden Forest. She vaguely remembered her grandmother telling her some story about it.

The two realized they were just outside the Hogwarts castle. Just in time too, as the students who had traveled across the lake were entering the castle through an entrance to their left.

Laurena saw that the lake and the forest were side by side. It had taken the students rowing the boats the same amount of time to reach the castle as it had taken her and Tom to navigate The Forbidden Forest. She remembered her grandmother saying it was very dangerous and inhabited with unknown dark and inhuman creatures. Evidently, going by boat was a lot safer and therefore the route that was supposed to be taken.

Laurena and Tom started their way behind the pack of students clambering into the castle. It had appeared that she and Tom had followed behind the students unnoticed, for everyone looked at them uneventfully, as if they had been in the boats with them the whole time.

Laurena gaped at the awe of the structure. With her dark-adjusted eyes, she could see the towering castle. Even bathed in moonlight it looked beautiful and majestic. Every stone encased window, tower, and detail seemed fit for a king. She smiled in delight as she followed behind the students into the behemoth place.

They all entered and began walking to the end of the long hallway, as instructed by Slughorn.

It was even more beautiful on the inside, so unlike her dreary home. the paintings on the walls moved, the suits of armor seemed to cackle, the candles attached to the stone walls bathed the hall in warm light.

Tom seemed unaware of all this. When Laurena looked at him, he was studying her carefully.

"What?" she said to him, smoothing back her long tangled mass of black hair.

"How did you do that?" he asked in reply.

"Do what?"

"The rock thing. And the wand thing. We almost died, you know."

"Uh I know. And oh, well, it's just something my grandmother taught me when I was young. Distraction Charm, Leading Spell. So I could fend off attackers, find my way home. You know, Safety Spells."

"Hmm. Well yeah, thanks again"

Tom didn't look thankful though. In fact, he looked reproachful. And jealous. Like he felt he should've been the one to save the day.

Laurena's thoughts were interrupted when a woman came from a room across the hall and silenced the noisy mass of first year students.

The stern looking woman introduced herself as Professor Botternaut. With a loud and commanding voice she explained what would happen: the students would form a single file line and walk quietly into the Great Hall. They would receive a warm welcome before being sorted into each individual house. Then dinner would commence and they would follow the prefects back to their dorms for the night. They would follow her this way at once.

As Botternaut led the way she reminded the students, "Remember that each house is much dignified in their own ways and it is an honor for each and every one of you to be selected as one of them. Do not let foolish talk and foul prejudice influence your thoughts. You belong in your sorted house and that is a wonderful esteemed placing."

Laurena thought she heard a familiar laugh, but she shook the thought away. Her attention was diverted by their entrance into the majestic Great Hall.

It was beautiful. There were four huge tables that looked as if they stretched kilometers. The ceiling was...there was no ceiling? No. It was enchanted. It looked as beautiful as the inky night sky she had just been under. Floating candles bathed the room in a homey glow. The endless pack of students, young and old chattered with each other, making the room extremely loud. A larger table behind them showed a row of the teachers, smiling at the first years. Laurena thought they looked more like a panel of judges. And right there, in the front of the room facing everyone, was a stool with a worn looking wizard hat resting on top of it.

Headmaster Dippet stood from his seat in the dead center of the teacher's table. He called everyone to attention and the chatter slowly died down to silence.

"I am pleased to welcome you all back to another splendid year at Hogwarts." he said with a smile. "Welcome back to another year for most, but for the newcomers, I welcome you to a wonderful new world which I hope you find thrilling."

The sorting into houses then commenced. Botternaut went up to the stool holding a scroll and explained that they would be sorted in alphabetical order. Laurena let out a breath. She would wait some time before she knew her house.

Laurena only knew a bit about the houses from what her grandmother told her. Gryffindor was for the brave, Ravenclaw for the clever, Hufflepuff for the loyal, and Slytherin for the cunning.

And somehow, no one in her family had a common house. Each member seemed to be sorted into a different one. Her grandmother herself was sorted into Hufflepuff, her grandfather (now deceased) was in Gryffindor. Her mother and father (whom she had never known) were in Ravenclaw and Slytherin, respectively. Clearly, her bloodline had no common theme. Laurena bit her lip, anticipating her long-awaited fate.

When the sorting was finished through the K's, the houses having cheered with their attaining of new members, a new name was called.

"Laurena Lorone."

Laurena felt her heart pound as she walked up to the stool. Everyone in the Great Hall was silent.

She felt the hat being placed on her head and her heartbeat quickened.

Laurena almost felt the hat smile and shift on top of her tangled hair. There was a long pause. And then it spoke. It seemed to be saying, inside of her head, "Hmm. I see. No legacy. Seems as if the Lorone's aren't sure where they belong. Very interesting. I can see that you are brave and quick, very loyal, intelligent, and full of wit. You would be great in any house. But there's something above all the rest, and maybe you'll discover this one day. So I leave this poem for you before you are sorted: _When cleverness and knowledge arise so will great lies. Seek the truth and you will find fidelity in the eyes."_

And this time out loud for everyone to hear, "Better be RAVENCLAW!"

The whole Ravenclaw table burst out into a mass of cheers. The other houses clapped politely and Laurena felt herself smile as she rushed down to take a seat at the table. Her fellow Ravenclaws welcomed her graciously and made her content.

Laurena watched more students get sorted and she remembered what the sorting hat had told her. She assumed it said something like that to everyone. It was like some sort of riddle. Strange. And like someone had read her mind, the next name called was, "Tom Riddle."

Laurena turned all of her attention towards the boy. This was her companion earlier this night, that she had saved from an untimely demise.

Tom sat on the stool, looking haughty like he knew exactly where he would be placed.

The hat was placed on his dark locks, Tom took a deep breath, the hat looked thoughtful, Laurena took a deep breath, and then-

"SLYTHERIN!"

This proclaim sent the whole table into wild howls. Tom grinned with pleasure and strutted over to his welcoming house.

A few more students were sorted and then it was over. Dippet had announced that the feast would now begin. Presently, the large plates and platters of steaming and delicious food appeared on the tables before them. Everyone dug in heartily.

The excitement and noise begin to grow once more as the whole room was sparkling into glorious excitement. A whole new year stood before these expectant and revived students.

Laurena couldn't help but feel the palpable feelings of joy in the air and smiled. But suddenly, her attention was diverted. She looked across the room at the Slytherin table and saw a pair of eyes fixed on her.

Tom Riddle's dark eyes interlocked with Laurena's gray ones. She stared at the mysterious boy, wondering what in the world he was about.

He stared back, with a smirk and a knowing expression as if he knew something she didn't. Laurena let herself look away and began to pile dinner food onto her plate.

That was the last time she saw Tom Riddle for four years.


	3. Chapter 3

((A.N. Hi! So I'm back with two more chapters, thanks to those who actually decided to read this far! It gets more interesting I promise. If you have an opinion, please review! I will love it, good or bad! Thanks for reading!))

* * *

_Fantastic. I'm late. First day of term. And I'm late. Some prefect I am. It has to be this class, probably the most difficult of all, filled with the worst people of all. My stupid alarm. Need to get that blasted thing fixed._

Laurena hurried herself as best she could to the Advanced Potions classroom. This was not a great start to her fifth year back at Hogwarts.

Laurena was only truly a minute late. But she was not even in the vicinity of the dungeons and was sure to get there even later. She then broke off into a sprint, holding her book bag closely so nothing spilled out.

When she finally reached the classroom, she tried to enter as discreetly as possible. But as soon as one foot stepped into the room, all eyes in the room turned to her.

Laurena froze and did her best to ignore them. Instead she caught the attention of the professor and apologized profusely for being late.

The professor however didn't look annoyed. In fact he looked quite amused.

"Oh it's quite all right! First day of term." he said with a flick of his mustache. "I was just introducing myself to the class. I'm Professor Slughorn and I'll be taking you all on this magical adventure through the world of Advanced Potion Making."

Laurena smiled and softened a bit with relief. She looked for an open seat, but found none. The desks were arranged so that two were to a table, partner style.

Slughorn noticed her searching eyes and motioned for a table in the front of the room where an open seat lie.

Laurena hurried herself over to the seat, avoiding the judging and watchful eyes of the students.

_Probably all Slytherins. _She thought disgustedly to herself.

She was right. No one took Advanced Potions unless they were a 6th or 7th year Slytherin. The course itself was quite difficult and anyone other than their house struggled with getting good marks in a regular potions class, much less an advanced one.

Everyone except Laurena, that is. As just a 5th year, she had gained enrollment in one of the most difficult courses at the school. She was however, able to pass all her potions courses with an O, one of the few out of her whole house. Laurena was actually quite interested in everything about potions, which was why she did so well. This class would prepare her for O.W.L.'s the following year, which she definitely needed. When she enrolled in the class, Dippet had confirmed that she would indeed be successful, even if she was a year younger. Perhaps being the only Ravenclaw in a class filled with sneering Slytherins was a small price to pay.

Presently, Laurena sat down in the stool next to the boy at their desk. He hardly noticed her arrival; his eyes were fixed on some book in his hands.

Laurena ignored his ignorance of her and focused her attention onto what Slughorn was saying. She glanced around the room a bit. It was quite refreshing, actually.

In most of her potion classes, the windows and doors had been shut and all forms of unnecessary light had been cast out. But in this classroom, all the windows were wide open and the September sunlight streamed through warmly, giving the class a softer and less ominous feel.

After a quick biography about himself, Slughorn commenced to the potion portion of the class.

"I don't like to start my classes with a dull lesson or overview of the year," He explained. "Instead, I am going to give you a page with a potion to brew. I would like to start with testing and analyzing your abilities, quickness, and chemistry. Work with your partners for the rest of the hour to complete the potion. Don't worry, I won't bombard you the first day with an extreme potion. But it won't be easy. Turn to page 29."

There was a pause as everyone in the class turned to the page in their books.

"Splendid. Yes, this is a Sleepless Draught. Don't look at me like that. Just follow the directions; you won't be graded on this, it's just an assessment of skills."

He went ahead and picked up a rather large cage from under his desk. In it resided a dozen or so black bats, in hibernation, from what it looked like by their hanging upside tucked under their wings.

"These black bats are in extreme hibernation, only a powerful, _correctly brewed _Sleepless Draught could wake them. You have the hour, ten minutes till, until I assess you. You will find all the ingredients you need in the cupboard. You may begin."

The whole class became a mass of noise, as the partners spoke to each other, read the ingredients, and hurried over to the cabinet to retrieve them.

Laurena looked at her partner, face still buried in his book, and spoke.

"We should start making this. We'll use my cauldron. We'll need-"

But she cut herself off when she realized that the boy was not paying any attention to her. In fact, she hadn't seen him look up from that book since Slughorn started speaking.

A little annoyed, she rose her voice. "Excuse me,"

Silence.

Laurena felt the annoyance bubble up into her voice. "Well, I don't know if _you _heard, but we're working together to brew a potion. Pehaps we should start, we're making a-"

"Sleepless Draught. I know. I heard," A deep voice interrupted.

The boy still hadn't taken his eyes off his book. Laurena wondered how he had heard any of Slughorn's instructions with his eyes glued to it the whole time.

"Well, maybe you should put that down and focus on the class. You know, the one you are in right now." Laurena said quite nastily.

He finally looked up.

Laurena almost tripped over herself when she caught a glance of his eyes. For a second it looked like this boy had all black eyes, with no pupil, like a demon.

She blinked and realized that his eyes were just extremely dark, a sort of deep brown that was almost a dark blue, which indeed had two black pupils in the center.

The boy rose an eyebrow at her and Laurena realized she was staring. She looked away quickly and muttered something inaudible.

The boy looked at her as if she were a two-headed goblin. Then he reached for a cauldron on the desk in front of him and stood up.

He was very tall, broad-shouldered and muscular in build, although not too big. Most likely a 7th year, Laurena guessed as she watched his long pale fingers turn pages in his book.

"I'll take care of it," His voice was deathly calm. "Don't lift a finger. You can focus on arriving late to your next class."

There was no trace of nastiness in his voice, despite the obvious jab at her prudence.

Laurena felt her face get hot. Something mad stirred in her for a moment. "Well, I'll help. So I can make sure you're doing this right." She said through her teeth.

"I _will_ do it right. There's nothing you can do that I won't do better. Just stay out of it."

"I don't _want_ to."

"You should. This isn't 2nd year potions."

Laurena's anger and competitive drive for success kicked in. Instead of arguing more with the stupid Slytherin, Laurena reached for another cauldron directly in front of her.

"Fine," she said bitterly. "I'll just make my own. You make yours. That'll be much easier."

The boy looked slightly taken aback. Laurena took a moment and stared at his pale complexion as he raised his forehead. Unlike most pale people, he didn't have spots of red in any part of his body. His smooth looking skin was a pearl-like, cream-colored white.

The boy then gave a half-smile, nodded, and turned to a page far into the back of the Advanced Potions book. Laurena glanced at the page and saw it was for a Crucix Potion.

She almost gasped. Was he going to make that? How would he? It was an extremely difficult potion to brew, saved for much later in the year in the class.

Laurena felt confused as she gathered ingreidients for the Sleepless Draught from the cupboard. The boy followed behind her, only he took with him very diffrerent ingredients. Laurena wondered what the hell he was doing, but didn't say anything. She began to focus her energy on brewing her own potion.

She hardly looked at her partner from then on. The room begin to fill with instructive whispers as the groups furiously brewed their potions.

Laurena hurriedly splinched her wickworms, juiced her frog eyes, and added phoenix phlegm for the liquid base of the potion. She watched it simmer and change the correct colors, as instructed by the book.

She began to relax, as things were going well. She has always had a knack for brewing; sizing up the ingredients, having a good eye for amount, and a skill for mixing it just the way it should be.

Just as she added the last of the unicorn hair to the brew, the liquid in her cauldron changed to the promised light blue color. The book's instructions said it would have to sit for about five minutes as the hairs seeped in. Once that was completed, she would only have to give it a stir and the potion would be complete.

Laurena took a deep breath and sat back in her chair, satisfied with herself. She knew she had brewed to success, and was one of the only few, as the rest of the occupants in the class looked stressed to complete brewing before time ran out.

Laurena took this time to check on the progress of her sneering partner, She hadn't been aware of him at all for the past half hour, as she was focused on completing her own potion.

She was surprised to see the boy finished with his own potion as well. He sat calmly in his chair, reading his book once again, with the steaming cauldron waiting on his desk.

Laurena's mouth almost dropped open when she saw the perfectly clear colored Crucix brew.

It looked perfect, and its maker looked unruffled, as if it had been the easiest thing in the world.

Laurena tried to keep her mind off of it as she turned her attention once more to her own. She stirred it slightly and the color steamed to a navy blue, just as the book promised.

Laurena felt content with her successful brew.

Then, not two minutes later, Slughorn clapped his hands together at the front of the room and announced, "Alright, time's up! I will come around now to test your potions."

He began at the back of the room. Laurena tried not to cast a glance at her partner.

_Why is he so sure of himself? Why is he my partner, of all people? Why is he sitting there so calmly?_

Laurena's disdain for the haughty Slytherin next to her increased.

Laurena pretended she didn't notice him as he raked his thin, white fingers through his locks of coffee-colored brown hair and sat higher in his seat with a ridiculously knowing half-smile.

_Damn Slytherins._

As they awaited their assessments, Laurena heard the results of the other students' potions.

It didn't sound too pleasant. So far, no group had gotten more than a disappointed "Hmmph" from Slughorn. All of the bats tested on with the potion were still in deep hibernation. The best potion only set the bat stirring a bit before it slipped back into its slumber.

Slughorn became more and more dismayed as he evaluated more and more potions. The bats had yet to awake.

Finally, he reached Laurena'a table. He reached forward but drew his hand back when he saw that there was in fact two potions instead of one.

"What's this? I thought I told you to work together?"

Laurena sensed the boy replying with some witty, Slytherin-like response and cut in before he could say anything.

"Well sir," she said quickly. "My strong-willed companion over here insisted that he brew the potion on his own. I wasn't too sure, but he was adamant, so I just decided it was best not to argue and for us to just make separate ones.

She made sure her voice sounded sickeningly, syrupy sweet.

Slughorn nodded and mused that as long as they both brewed correctly, it was no problem. He seemed quite amused.

He went ahead and brought out a bat to test Laurena's potion with. She held her breath as he used a dropper to place three drops on its curled up, black body.

Then the thing soared.

It screeched too. Everyone nearly jumped out of their seats as the black animal made the abrupt outcry and flapped its wings over the entire classroom.

The disturbed bat flapped crazily here and there around the room, clearly angry with its sudden revival.

Slughorn's expression matched the rest of the class'; it was full of wonder, astonishment, and surprise. Slughorn was still grinning when he led the newly awakened bat back into its cage. He used a spell to silence it and turned to Laurena with renewed refreshment.

"Merlin's beard, girl! That was incredible! The only one in the class! Fantastic work! What is your name?"

She told him.

"Miss Lorone. Ah, you are bright indeed. I look forward to seeing your achievements, then." he praised with a smile.

_Perfect._

Slughorn turned to the boy. "Now let's see if yours is as good as the partner you denied."

The boy smirked and spoke.

"Well, you see sir, I have brewed something different for you here. I thought since my partner so...graciously made the Sleepless Draught, that I should make something more...refreshing to you, sir. Something to show you what I can really brew."

Slughorn looked even more amused. "Well, what have you made then?" he asked.

"A Crucix, sir."

Slughorn's eyes grew wide. "A _Crucix_?"

"Yes sir."

"Merlin...are you insane! That is an extremely difficult potion! We don't even cover that until mid March! Are you crazy?"

A smile. "Perhaps, sir."

"Well, let's see it then..."

Tom pushed his bubbling cauldron of clear-colored liquid towards Slughorn. Tentatively, Slughorn reached for another hibernating bat and dripped three drops of the potion onto it.

The whole class became silent, all were intent on seeing the result of the boy's potion.

Laurena stared, and-

_SCREECH._

The loudest, most painful sound Laurena had ever heard entered her ears. The source was the post-in hibernation bat, now awake and alert as ever.

Only this bat was writhing and squirming and screaming in what looked to be a terrible amount of pain. Even its little squished face looked like it was in utter torture. The screech grew louder and the bat looked in such distress.

Then it was over.

The bat ceased to move and fell back into a deep slumber, as if it were never violently awakened at all.

The whole class looked stunned, but no one as much as Slughorn.

Suddenly, he broke out into a slow applause, that quickly built up to a fast and appreciative one. The smile on his face grew bigger as he stared at the creator of the potion, who looked deathly calm still.

"Incredible! How?_ How_! My lord, _I_ can't even make something like that. Torture potions are extremely difficult to brew! One milliliter off and your potion is as good as urine. This is...this is marvelous! What is your name?"

"Tom Riddle, sir."

Tom Riddle.

Laurena froze.

"Well, Mr. Riddle, I look forward to your attendance in my class. I daresay you all could learn a thing or two from him. Even you, Miss Lorone."

Slughorn collected the cage of bats and put them under his desk again.

_Even me._

_Huh._

* * *

When class ended, the students piled out the door. Laurena packed her things slowly so that she could leave without Tom watching her.

Once she saw him leave with a group of his friends from the class, she hurriedly stuffed her things together and bolted out the door.

_Tom Riddle._

It had only taken one mention of the name, two simple words, three simple syllables.

_Could it be?_

This was the boy whose life she had saved.

Laurena had completely and utterly forgot about his existence. Literally.

After that one night four years ago, she found herself absorbed in her studies. She began to forget everything else in the world except school. She never had any classes, any events with this boy. It was easy to let him, well, slip her mind.

But that one class period brought with it the vivid memory of that mysterious first night at Hogwarts. The forest, the werewolf, the sorting, the stares, _him_.

It_ was _him. Only this Tom was much older. And this Tom had a completely different nature than that little boy.

He was cool and collected. He was incredibly intelligent; he had just displayed that in the previous hour. He was in the same year as Laurena, and like her he was able to place in such an advanced class. He looked so much older and mature, though. She had mistaken him for a 7th year.

_The hell._

Laurena took a deep breath to calm herself. She was in deep astonishment, but it was time to stop thinking about it. She had Advanced Transfiguration next with her favorite teacher.

It would be an easy thing to do.

School was priority. Laurena had many prefect duties to focus on, anyhow. Laurena never thought about boys, especially haughty Slytherin ones who stole her thunder.

Dumbledore's class would take her mind off the silly thing, right?

_Right._

But she couldn't even convince herself.


	4. Chapter 4

"Laurena!"

"Laurena's here!"  
"Yay!"

"Let us in!"

Laurena stood back in shock at the group of eight or so students surrounding the Ravenclaw common room door. They all looked desperate.

"What's going on here?" she asked.

"We can't solve the riddle." replied a defeated voice.

Laurena rolled her eyes and laughed.

"The first common room riddle of the year and it's already stumped you?" she asked playfully.

The students looked at her hopefully.

Laurena rolled her eyes again, smiled, and walked to face the bronze eagle in the dead center of the tower door.

The eagle opened its metal mouth and said, "What has four legs, then two, then three?"

_Easy._

"Man, of course."

The common room door swung open to let the students enter. Laurena turned around to face them.

"That was probably the simplest riddle I've ever heard. The classic Sphinx's riddle! Don't you lot pay attention in history?"

The students all shrugged playfully and laughed as they entered the Ravenclaw common room.

"That's what we have you for Laur." said a voice.

"Isn't that why you're a prefect now?" chimed in another.

They all thanked Laurena profousely and made their way in. The students fell forward onto the cushioned seats and couches, tired out from the long first day of term. A before-dinner excitement hung in the air.

Laurena sat down on the end of the long, cushioned, navy blue sofa.

It _was_ a long day.

Not a minute later, a body form plopped itself on the empty seat next to Laurena.

Laurena turned to face the chipper face of her best friend Myrtle.

"Hi, Myrtle," she greeted.

"Laurena!" Myrtle squealed in her high-pitched voice. "I missed you!"

The two exchanged the typical round of teenage girl gossip and complaints about their new classes.

Myrtle then flew into some high-strung conversation about her Arithmancy class. Laurena smiled at the girl.

It was hard not to love Myrtle. The girl was always in some sort of mood with high-strung emotions. You could never count on Myrtle to be boring and lifeless.

She had been Laurena's best friend since she had arrived at Hogwarts during Laurena's second year. The two had an instant bond and became inseperable.

Myrtle was a great friend; she was always there for Laurena, always made her smile when she was stressed, always knew how to entertain her.

Laurena watched her small form bubble up with energy as she told her story still and wondered how anyone could not like her.

Myrtle was often thought of as "the weirdo from Ravenclaw", but Laurena couldn't fabricate why.

_People are rude, though._ She reminded herself.

_So quick to judge. So what if Myrtle's hair looks a bit greasy all the time? So what if her glasses are as thick as Christmas ham? So what if she is almost as small as a first year? So what?_

Regardless, Laurena didn't let those foolish opinions get to her. She loved Myrtle and that was all.

Myrtle twirled one of her signature pigtails and continued to buzz happily on with her story.

Laurena was tuning her out slightly.

"...and then he was made a favorite again. Course. Tom Riddle at it again."

Laurena's attention diverted when she heard the last thing out of Myrtle's mouth.

"Uh, what did you say there Myrtle?" she asked tentatively.

"What? Oh, he's at it again."

"Oh, well no, uh who?"

"Tom Riddle."

_Tom Riddle._

"I heard something about Tom, what's going on?" Selena Clearwater said from across the sofa, jumping in on their conversation.

"Oh, I was just telling Laurena about how the Riddle boy was made a favorite again. Not much news."

Selena's curiosity deflated slighty. "Oh, well of course." she tittered.

"Uh, who is this Tom Riddle we're talking about?" Laurena insisted.

Both girls turned to look at her curiously.

"You've never heard of him?" Selena asked her.

Laurena shook her head.

"How? He's like a god. So perfect. Everyone's mad about him. How do you not know?"

Laurena shrugged and played dumb for a bit more.

"Never heard of him. Guess I'm too wrapped up in school for gossip. Who is he?" she asked.

Selena's blue eyes grew wide.

"He's only the hottest guy at this school! Well, at least one of them. Even for a Slytherin, bloody hell. Every Slytherin girl is practically on him, don't you notice? He's gorgeous! And teachers love him. He's so charming it's ridiculous."

Laurena nodded as she took in the information.

How _did_ she not know about him before?

_And how come I forgot about his existence? That night four years ago was anything but forgettable. Am I that much of an introvert? Do I really spend that much time with my nose buried in my books?_

Selena and Myrtle began to occupy themselves with other people in the common room, so Laurena stole the chance and slipped away to her dormitory.

_I wonder if Tom remembers me too. _She thought to herself as she sat on her perfectly made bed.

She hadn't recognized him by looks, but by name. He didn't seem to recognize her at all.

Did she look that different?

Laurena glanced over to the small mirror over her dresser.

She had the same face, just a little thinner and with more vivid features. She was taller, of course, a very tall girl for her age. Her skin was still the same shade of golden-pale.

Her hair was different too. Due to a Smoothing Charm gone wrong, her hair wasn't the tangled black mass it was when she was eleven. Her hair was silky, smooth, in long raven-black waves that reached the small of her back.

The only thing Tom could familiarize was her eyes. They were a soft gray, that glowed the color of unicorn blood in the dark.

But there was nothing really remarkable about her. She wasn't awfully plain, but she wasn't strikingly beautiful either.

But did he remember her?

Laurena's train of thought was disrupted by Myrtle's abrupt entry into the room.

"Dinner time, Laur." she said excitedly.

* * *

Laurena walked with Myrtle, Selena, and a few others down to the Great Hall. Laurena was famished.

She kept quiet as they walked along, listening but not taking part in any conversations.

They were just descending the Grand Staircase when suddenly something knocked Laurena's arm off the banister, making her lose her balance.

She stumbled and panicked, as she was falling closer to the ground.

Then, a hand reached out to steady her.

Laurena looked up to see the dapper face of James McLaggen grinning back at her.

She sighed. "Hello, James."

"Laurena. So happy to see you again."

He smiled his famous heart-melting smile.

Laurena politely smiled back and tried desperately to get away. But his hold on her arm tightened.

"So I save you from smashing your face in, and you don't even say thanks? I missed you all summer. You didn't even reply to any of my letters."

_Here we go again._

It wasn't a secret that James McLaggen fancied Laurena Lorone.

Ever since 3rd year, he had been trying to court her.

But to no avail; Laurena never responded to any of his advances. Laurena didn't want a boyfriend. Not now, not ever. It was too distracting from school.

Sometimes, however, she wondered why she rejected James so often.

Looking at him right now, she saw what probably melted the hearts of all the girls in the Ravenclaw house.

James McLaggen, the chiseled 6th year. He had a perfect athletic build: he was tall, muscular, and fit as he should be; he was Keeper on the Qudditch team.

The way his honey brown hair fell about him was alluring; almost as much as his ocean blue eyes. Top that with a terribly winning smile and there was this perfect, supermodel type boy.

But then Laurena remembered why.

She watched all the girls, yes_ all_ the girls, in her house fall for James. How could they not? James would return those affections and make those helpless girls fall at his feet.

Then he would get bored. After he used them, of course, he would drop them like hot rolls and find someone new.

And it didn't help that his personality wasn't all that winning either. Sure he could charm someone, but he didn't have the mental capacity to uphold an intelligent conversation.

He was nothing but a lifeless shell. Only he was lucky enough to be in a beautiful shell, one that fooled naïve girls and got him laid a lot.

_I'll never fall for that._

Laurena ignored him the best that she could the rest of the way to the Great Hall.

* * *

"There's someone staring at you Laurena."

Myrtle's declaration rang out like a pounding gong through Laurena's distracted mind. She was doing her best to try to forget the previous events of the day.

She looked up to find that Myrtle was indeed correct. Familiar dark eyes bore into her own from the Slytherin table.

Then he looked away, and it was over. Tom Riddle cast his glance downward as if he had never been looking at her at all.

Laurena watched him carefully.

She noticed, right then and there, that Tom was indeed, attractive.

Tom rose slowly from the table, saying quick goodbyes to all of his friends. He gathered himself with ease and began to walk across to reach the exit of the Great Hall.

Laurena watched him. Tom never seemed to lose that haughty smile. It was etched onto his lips like an epitaph.

His pale white face stood out against the many. It was pale, but in a beautiful sort of way. He had defined and outright features. His dark eyes glistened and seemed to match his smirk. His hair was a perfect chocolate-brown, with locks not too curly, but not at all straight.

But the way he walked. He walked with an air, an air that told that he knew he was important, influential. Like he held the world in the palm of his hands. And somehow, it made him even more enticing.

He seemed to be able to convey all of this with ease, like establishing perfection was no matter.

He wasn't supermodel perfect; he didn't have those classic heart-throb features. No, Tom was more like a mysterious lover right out of one of Laurena's grandmother's romance novels.

Once he left, Laurena came to her senses and cursed herself.

What was she doing? Letting herself lust after some bloke she didn't even know.

It was stupid, right?

_Right?_

* * *

"Yes, Tom this is perfect. I think we finally have it. It'll be soon, heir or not. Keep your _eyes_ _peeled_."

Tom Riddle smirked.

"Fantastic, Malfoy."

The blonde boy smirked back.

"But before you say anything else, you should know that we have an audience."

Laurena gasped.

The two boys rounded the corner of the hallway and found a surprised looking dark-haired girl.

The blonde boy fumed angrily, but was immediately calmed by Tom.

"Relax, Malfoy, she didn't hear anything important. Go back to the common room. I'll take care of it."

Malfoy left the deserted hallway carefully, sneering at Laurena all the while.

When he left, Tom studied Laurena closely.

"Eavesdropping, aren't we? Very rude. You know I could easily take points away from your house for wandering after hours. Prefect power." he stated.

Laurena felt something boil up within her.

"Well it's a good thing I'm a prefect as well isn't it?" she said haughtily, flashing her badge.

Then neither of them said anything to each other for a moment. Laurena's heart pounded.

"Um, I don't know if you remember this, but I was the-"

"The one who saved my life in the forest four years ago." Tom cut in. "I know."

Laurena only stared.

Tom looked at her with his famous smile. Laurena could almost feel the amount of Slytherin girls that that smile won over.

_Who is he?_

They stood in the empty stretch of the hall for a minute, locking eyes in the darkness.

"Well, it's been nice and all," Tom said. "But I'm going to bed. Good night. Try not to spy on too many, you might be late yet again back to your common room."

He smirked and disappeared into the shadows.

Laurena wasn't sure what to do next.

What _were_ Tom and that other boy talking about? And why did it send chills up her spine? How come Tom didn't take points away from _that_ stupid Slytherin? Why did Tom seem to always get the last word?

_Shit. Get ahold of yourself Lorone. He's just a boy, for goodness sake._

_Right?_


	5. Chapter 5

((A.N. Hey! Two more chapters. I am really happy with the progress of this story haha. Thanks to the people that actually keep reading! It gets better I promise. Please please review! Review if its good or bad please! I'll love you forever. Haha okay thanks.))

* * *

"But who is he?! That's all I want to know!"

Laurena knew she was on the verge of losing her temper but she didn't care.

"Why is he suddenly appearing in every conversation I hear now? Why is suddenly the bigshot of the school?"

Laurena could hear the desperate whine in her voice.

But she couldn't help it. Her emotions were bound to burst sometime, and this was a better time than any. Laurena would rather have Dumbledore hear her whine than anyone else, truthfully.

After she was finished with her ranting, Dumbledore looked at her with an amused expression. Other than her shrill voice, his office was quiet.

Dumbledore pushed his half-moon glasses up his nose before he spoke.

"Seems as if your 5th year isn't off to a great start, Miss Lorone." he said.

Laurena thought she heard him chuckle softly.

"Since when have you focused your time and energy on mere boys?"

Laurena, feeling defensive, almost retorted back a defying response. But she stopped herself.

Dumbledore was right, as always.

Laurena Lorone didn't think about boys. She didn't fall for empty-minded, suave pretty faces. She didn't cry herself to sleep about them.

So why on Earth was she thinking about this one?

Laurena sighed. "I don't have a...a crush on this boy. I just want to know who he is."

It was true, she did. She didn't just go visit her favorite teacher afterschool to vent about stupid fancies.

"Well, Miss Lorone, Tom Riddle is an extremely intelligent student. Top marks, top classes, prefect. He is one of the few who scored as high as you on last year's exams. Very responsible, polite, and trustworthy. Represents his house as a whole."

_In other words he's perfect._ She thought nastily to herself.

"And this Malfoy character?" she inquired. "Who is he?"

"Marcus Malfoy. Slytherin. Same grade. Not quite as smart, but gets fair marks. Not known for much integrity, but isn't known for trouble either. Always with Tom, they're good friends, I'm assuming. Tom has quite a few friends he's inseparable with. It's odd though, these 'friends' seem more like followers."

Laurena took a moment to absorb the information just given to her. She sighed. It wasn't like her to be so hung up on something so ridiculous as this. _A boy?_ Please. Now she had the information she wanted and she would stop thinking about it.

Right?

When she looked back up at Dumbledore he looked as amused as ever.

Laurena fumed slightly.

"Well that wasn't the full reason I came by. I assume you have riddles for me?" she asked him.

Dumbledore smiled and pushed his half-moon spectacles up his crooked nose.

"As always, Miss Lorone. I have to keep up with you, don't I?"

Yes. This was why she had come by. She always visited Dumbledore at least three times a week during the school year. She found his Transfiguration class the most interesting and Dumbledore himself even more so. He was her favorite teacher; he was kind, intelligent, and clever; he always had an endless supply of riddles. Laurena stopped by to ask homework questions, inquire about his life, and share riddles with him. Their friendship was one that Laurena truly treasured to have.

"Well," she said with a smirk. "Riddle me."

"Yes, Miss Lorone. It is greater than God, more evil than the devil, the rich need it, and the poor have it. What is it?"

Laurena's smile deepened. She wondered why Dumbledore underestimated her sometimes.

"Nothing, of course."

* * *

Laurena found the first few months of school go by quicker than she could've imagined. She was wrapped up in her schoolwork from her difficult classes. September came and went in a swirl of parchment, ink, and knowledge. October was waning slowly into November as well.

The weather outside was becoming darker, more crisp, as if inviting the winter to take over. School had resumed its regular routine well enough.

And Laurena found it increasingly easy to forget about Tom Riddle.

He was always there, of course. She only had one class a day with him but his presence was a nothing short of a boulder on her mind. Although they sat next to each other still and were obligated to brew potions together, they hardly spoke. It became a sort of mutual, unvoiced understanding. They would brew potions (quite perfectly, considering both their talents) and woo Slughorn, but without ever speaking to one another. It was easy enough.

But he always seemed to be there, sitting perfectly, with that classic, calm, and haughty demeanor. However, with her work load, she was able to take her mind off of him for some time.

It was October 28th, right after a lesson on a Dissolving Draught, that Slughorn called Tom and Laurena to his desk after class.

"It is Halloween night on Friday, as you know," Slughorn said to them when they arrived.

"You see, I have a sort of tradition on Halloween night. After the feast, I have an annual dessert party here in my office. I've imported many desserts just for the event: pudding, eclairs, glazed meringues, and my personal favorite, crystalized pineapple. It will be a small affair, I mean to invite my most dignified and notorious students to attend. So, I invite the both of you to come, Friday night, at eleven o'clock. You may bring one guest from your house with you."

It was silent for a moment. Then Tom said. "I would be delighted to stop by, sir."

"Excellent!" Slughorn looked pleased. "And you, Miss Lorone?"

Laurena flashed her best smile. "You can count on my attendance as well, sir."

* * *

Laurena stared at her reflection in the mirror of the 3rd floor bathroom.

She was ready.

In a few minutes, Slughorn's dinner party would commence. Laurena felt she looked well enough. She had ditched her itchy school robes for a simple black dress and sheer tights. Her black school flats were traded in for a pair of buckled, ankle high boots, and her long hair was pushed back with a thin black headband. The only thing she still kept on from the school day was her prefect badge, which was illuminating in the light of the bathroom.

Yes, she was one of Slughorn's most dignified students.

She checked the clock and saw that the time was 10:50 p.m. She left the bathroom and began to walk down to the dungeons.

She was going alone, since no one in the Ravenclaw house cared to accompany her. According to them, they didn't wish to eat dessert with a bunch of "suck-up bookworms". Besides Laurena, of course. Even Myrtle didn't feel up to going.

But no matter. Laurena wished to attend, alone or not. She was thrilled to have been thought of as a dignified student, and she enjoyed crystalized pineapple very much.

But halfway through in walking down the stairs, something illogical flashed through Laurena's mind. She thought of something.

_Be late. _Said a strange voice in her head. _Don't be predictable. Prove something._

What was this? Logic began disappearing. This voice, this urge; it was taking over.

_Be late. Amuse them. They want you to show up on time. They want you to be good. Show them something. You're the late girl, aren't you?_

And for the first time in her life, Laurena obeyed an urge. She abandoned logic and began walking the other way towards the Ravenclaw tower.

What am I doing?

_You're making Tom notice you. Do it._

Before she could convince herself otherwise, Laurena ran up the stairs to her tower. A grin began forming on the outer corners of her mouth.

* * *

When Laurena arrived at the common room, she received looks of confusion.

Selena and Myrtle expressed that they thought she was attending Slughorn's event and that she wouldn't be back until later.

Laurena quickly thought of a lie and told them that the party was actually at 11:30 and that she had just realized it.

The two girls believed her and said nothing as Laurena plopped down on the sofa next to them. Selena and Myrtle were having a playful conversation about Witch Weekly when a new person joined the three of them on the couch.

"Sup." said Landon Lovegood with a half-smile.

Laurena watched Selena roll her eyes. "Hey, Landon," she said, sounding annoyed. "You're back. Have you got another tattoo we should know about?" She added the last part sneeringly.

Landon shook his head and rolled the sleeves down on his inked arms.

"Nah, but I got doubles." he said flashing his diamond studded earlobes with a grin.

"Ecch. You're disgusting." Selena said to him.

"But you love it!"

"As if!"

The two looked at each other, as if they were desperate to outthink the other. Then Selena rolled her eyes again.

She said a quick goodbye to Myrtle and Laurena and declared that she was heading to her dormitory for the night.

"Don't want to deal with hoodlum, stuck-up freaks tonight anyway." She said under her breath as she left.

Landon looked bewildered and shrugged his shoulders in exasperation. "What did I do this time?" he asked.

All he got in reply was a giggle from Myrtle. Landon shook his head and ran his fingers through is chin length, wavy dirty blonde hair and left to his own dormitory.

"I wonder when Selena will admit she's got a mad crush on him." Myrtle said with more giggles.

Laurena smiled and talked with Myrtle for a bit. When the time read 11:25, she said a goodbye and started walking towards the dungeons.

This was going to be interesting.

* * *

"Oh, look who's finally decided to show up. Good to see you, Miss Lorone."

Laurena looked at the pointed stares from the twenty or so students surrounding a large table in Slughorn's office.

The mocking jeer was voiced by none other than Marcus Malfoy, which was odd, considering she had never spoken to him in her life.

Laurena apologized profusely to Slughorn before taking an empty seat at the table. Slughorn expressed no annoyance whatsoever, just more amusement.

Laurena's heart pounded and she began to regret her ill decision. _What am I doing?_

But the stares at her from around the table began to fade as a minute or so went by without incident. Conversations went on and more helpings of desert were taken. Laurena took a plate and obtained some crystalized pineapple herself, hoping her late entrance was forgotten

She then began to notice the whispers. The Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs that were there paid no mind to her at all. It was all the blasted Slytherins who were staring at her, whispering, and laughing.

Laurena shifted uncomfortably in her chair. The stupid Slytherins she could bear. She did it well enough in her potions class. She could not ignore one person in particular, however.

Tom was the worst too; he made sure his whispers were exceedingly loud and that he looked at Laurena with that god-awful smirk.

It didn't help that Tom was surrounding by Slytherin girls on the left and right of him. She watched him talk to each of them, clearly aware that they were hanging on to every word he was saying. They all had a stupid, longing look in their eyes as they stared at Tom. But how could they not? In the darkening light of Slughorn's office, Tom looked foreboding and mysteriously beautiful in all of his dark grandeur.

It was disgusting.

The girls would sometimes be speaking, telling stories, it seemed. Laurena caught bits of their conversations from across the table and understood that the girls were trying to impress Tom in any way they could; they bragged about their Pureblood families, their wealth, the parents' political positions, and anything else that they thought made them seem more alluring.

Laurena ignored the group as best she could but it began to get worse. All the Slytherin girls, the guys as well, and Tom began whispering louder, then looking at her and laughing.

Laurena felt anger burning up within her. _Can't they just leave me alone?_

"Is there something I can help you with?" she asked angrily to the lot of them.

Tom looked over and raised an eyebrow. "Actually, yes.."

He glanced at his friends haughtily. "As you can see, we were all just so... curious about you. We're wondering about you...your family, your life. Malfoy thinks you're a Halfblood but Jean, Liz, Rose, and I are convinced you're a Mudblood. Would you be so kind as to...enlighten us?"

The haughty grin never faltered. Laurena glanced at Slughorn and saw that he was oblivious to their conversation, wrapped up in discussion with some Hufflepuff. She looked again at the group of about nine or so Slytherins and saw they were all intent on hearing what she would say back to Tom.

Laurena thought about all the girls trying to impress him. She remembered how disgusting it was. And suddenly something flashed through her mind again. It was that same illogical urge.

_Don't tell them you're a Pureblood. Don't tell them how wealthy your grandmother is. Lie._

Lie.

"Well," Laurena began with a smirk. "You're right. I'm Muggleborn."

Failingly stifled laughter ensued.

"Go on." said Tom through his smirk.

"I live on the bad side of London. You know with all the street beggars. In one of those little stone shacks. We're barely getting by. My parents were so shocked when I got my letter. But mostly happy because they wouldn't have to pay to feed me anymore since I was going to school here."

The Slytherin's faces grew grins; they were clearly were buying Laurena's lie like it was a scandalous cover story in Witch Weekly.

She continued, "I spend holidays here,"

She stopped for a moment as she thought she saw Tom flinch slightly. But the moment passed and she shook it off as just a trick of the light.

"I would never want to go back home to the streets. There are so many diseases. In fact, I still have some of them. They're dormant within me but I could easily spread them. Yes, muggle diseases are quite deadly and even magic can't cure them completely. Wretched chicken pox, flu, measles..."

She stopped when the Slytherin girls abruptly squealed in disgust and scooted their chairs further away from her. Even the boys looked detested.

_Perfect. _Her lie wrapped them up like a rope. They believed every word. _Now they'll leave me alone. They think I'm a walking disease._

They stopped paying attention to her then and started conversing among themselves, only glancing at her now and then with revolted looks.

Laurena smiled and helped herself to more desert. That was the key to those stupid Slytherins: make them squirm. Express happiness about a lower kind of lifestyle. Make them see that you don't care about how wealthy and Pureblooded you are; make them see you a happy this way.

They all assumed their regular routine of talking among each other.

Everyone but Tom, that is.

Laurena frightened herself half to death when she looked over to see Tom staring at her with an expressionless, catatonic face.

_What?_

* * *

When the party was over, everyone having dispersed into the hall, Slughorn having said goodbye to everyone, disappearing into his office, Tom approached Laurena.

The hallway around them was empty except for Marcus Malfoy, who stood a few yards away, leaning and waiting against the wall with a stony expression directed at them.

"Can I help you?" Laurena asked.

"Uh, um...yeah...I mean..."

Laurena stopped. What was this? _Tom Riddle_ was at a loss for words?

She looked at him and saw that for once he didn't have that grin; he looked almost...vulnerable.

He looked up at Laurena and continued speaking. "Was any of what you said true?"

"All of it."

"Well, I don't believe it," His haughty demeanor then steadily returned. "You may have the rest of them fooled but not me. I suggest you swallow your pride and realize that I am much, much smarter than you think you are. You'll never match me, Laurena, never."

Laurena's rage finally reached the boiling point.

"_Excuse me?_ No. No, Tom. I just want your stupid group of followers to leave me alone. I'm not trying to prove anything to you. Why should I? You're all just stupid, rich kids who are friends because of all your connections. And I_ am _just as smart as you. And I _will _match you. Of course none of what I said was true. But what are you going to do? Tell them? Of course not, all they want to believe is that I'm a stupid, undesirable Mudblood. You'll never be as smart as _me_, Tom. So you should back _the hell off_."

Tom looked like he had forgetten how to breathe. His expression softened and he spoke, "Look, Laurena, I-"

"Goodnight Tom." Laurena cut him off roughly and walked off in the opposite direction towards her dormitory.

The last thing she saw was a defeated looking Tom stalk off in the direction of where Malfoy stood waiting.

She noted that it was peculiar how instead of advancing into the dungeons, where the Slytherin dormitories lie, they ascended a flight of stairs to the left.

She didn't know where they were going, but it wasn't to bed, that was for sure.


	6. Chapter 6

"Miss Lorone, I have another riddle for you."

Laurena piped up with excitement. It was the perfect thing for her on a Monday morning after a considerably eventful weekend.

She leaned closer across Dumbledore's desk to hear what he was about to say.

"I'd like you to find out what Tom Riddle and Marcus Malfoy are up to."

Laurena's breath caught in her throat. "_What?_"

"Miss Lorone, I am becoming increasingly suspicious as to what they have been doing these past few weeks since school began. I don't know if you've noticed, but Tom is abusing his prefect privileges; he is out of bed after hours, taking that boy with him. And they keep disappearing to who knows where. I'd like you to discover what this all is. Mind you, it could be nothing. But I'd like you to confirm or deny that for me."

His voice was deathly calm, unknowingly opposing Laurena's inner fuming feelings.

He continued, "Think of this as a mission. A top secret one at that. I would do this myself, but I feel that you are less suspicious to be seen lurking around them. Use your prefect abilities. I wouldn't ask unless I was concerned about the safety of our school. Think of this as a favor, Laurena, an honor; I recognize your true intelligent abilities and realize you could use them in this advantage. Excuse the pun, but find the answer to the riddle of...Mr. Riddle."

Laurena sighed. _Just as I got them to finally leave me alone._

But how could she say no to Dumbledore? This man was smart; if he suspected something, it was more than likely that there was something going on. And if he respected her above anyone else, who was she to deny this favor asked of her?

"It would be my...honor sir, to figure it out."

* * *

The month of November dispersed into a flurry of schoolwork, exams, and snowflakes. Laurena was absorbed as ever into her studies. She had enough on her mind with her classes and the "mission", as Dumbledore called it, that had been given to her.

It was bad enough that she had to break out her scarves and heavy coats for the winter as well. The snow was as abundant as ever. As the month slipped into December, brown leaves became piled on with a mass of glittering, white blankets. The air was thin, the wind was freezing, and students piled to the Great Hall for dinner each night, intent on slurping down their favorite hot soups.

The year was passing, as it should. Laurena found the routine of studying in comfort, as she was always wrapped up in it.

And then there was Tom.

Ever since Slughorn's party, he had been acting as strange as ever. It was nothing related to what Dumbledore had spoken of. No, Laurena watched him and Malfoy closely in their potions class but did not discover any means of suspicion.

But Tom was acting strange. In potions, they would do what they normally did: brew a masterpiece to Slughorn's delight without ever speaking to one another. But outside of class, Laurena would see Tom everywhere.

At any meal in the Great Hall, Laurena could catch Tom's gaze from the Slytherin table. He wouldn't break it off when Laurena noticed, he would only stare harder. When she was walking down the hall, Tom would be going in the opposite direction, eyes fixed on her, never leaving. The strangest was one night when Laurena had come back to Ravenclaw tower from the Great Hall after dinner and she saw Tom about four feet from the common room door. He was just leaning against the wall, arms crossed, with an unreadable expression directed at Laurena.

And during these times, Tom would never greet Laurena. It was evident that they both were aware of each other's presence, but Tom seemed to just ignore that fact altogether.

Laurena felt increasingly uncomfortable as a few weeks of this went on. But she was sidetracked when there came a monumental announcement in mid-December.

It had started out as Slughorn wanting to have another party for the upcoming event of Christmas. He wanted to have a formal sort of ball. Of course, he only intended to invite his most prominent and favored students, but then too many people heard about it. Suddenly everyone wanted to go.

So it was decided amongst the teachers that the school would host a Christmas Eve formal ball in the Great Hall on December 24th at 8:00 p.m.

And so began the excitement. It was extremely imperative to every girl at Hogwarts to go to this ball with a date. The school was a flurry of raging hormones and nervous boys.

Some boys plucked up the courage and asked a girl to accompany them as a date. Some boys stayed in the shadows and watched excited girls whisper all around. Some girls were even so brave as to ask the boys themselves.

"It's really stupid, it is," Said Selena one Saturday after lunch to Laurena and Myrtle. "Gives girls more reasons to boast. Look at my new dress for the ball! This boy from Gryffindor asked me! Ooh!"

The three girls were walking down from the tower to the lake. It was mid-winter and freezing but the sun had decided to make an appearance in the misty sky. So a massive amount of the student body had decided to spend part of their weekend bundled up and socializing lazily by the freezing waters.

There was a small clearing spotted with trees near where the mouth Forbidden Forest lie that many students chose to lounge by. Laurena, Selena, and Myrtle sat together there on a huge rock and dead tree stump that lay together.

Selena stretched out her legs. "If I go to the ball, I'll go alone." she stated firmly.

"Unless Landon asks you." Myrtle chirped with a stifled giggle.

Selena's cheeks went red as she glared at Myrtle. She shook her head and muttered, "Never" while she played with a light brown strand of hair.

"Hey, ladies." A new voice entered the vicinity.

Selena looked up and her expression grew more stony as she saw the person who the voice belonged to.

"Landon." she said coolly.

Landon sat on the ground directly in front of the three girls, but stared only at Selena.

"Can I help you with something?" Selena asked him, clearly annoyed.

"Not really, I just came here to get away from all them." He pointed to a group of girls in the distance who were giggling and admiring Landon from afar.

Selena pretended she didn't notice. "That's great for you Landon, really." she said sarcastically.

Landon frowned. "Sorry for trying to make conversation."

"It's not conversation if all you do is talk about yourself!"

"You're thick, you know that, Clearwater?"

"What, now you can't call me by my first name?"

The two got up from their seats and were now standing directly in front of each other, with matched expressions of contempt.

"Shouldn't you be following boys around hoping one of them will ask you or something?" Landon said.

"Shouldn't _you_ be picking which girl's virginity you want to steal the night of the ball?"

They were both silent for a moment.

Then Landon laughed. "I can't believe I actually came over here to ask you to the ball." He scoffed.

Selena's cheeks grew rose bushes of red. "Liar!" she screeched so loud everyone within twenty feet or so turned to look. "I hate you!" She then turned in the other direction and ran up out of the clearing back to the castle.

Landon stared at her running form in the distance with bewilderment.

"Seriously, what did I do this time?" he asked Laurena and Myrtle.

When all he got in response were smiles and shrugs, he shook his head confusedly and stalked off.

"They need to confess their love for each other already." Myrtle said with gut-wrenching laugh.

Laurena found herself giggling with the known truth of Myrtle's statement.

* * *

It was like any other day.

"Fantastic!" Slughorn boomed. "The only two O's on the last exam! Congratulations, Miss Lorone and Mr. Riddle." He handed them back their exam pages with delight.

It was the day before the ball, and everyone was going into mad hysterics. Most everyone had a date and were extremely excited. Some unlucky few weren't asked and were spending a sad night in their rooms. Laurena had decided of her own accord not to go.

She had been asked by many boys, mostly from Ravenclaw, James included, but she refused each one.

Laurena would rather get ahead on her holiday homework then attend the stupid event. Besides, none of the boys that asked her were appealing to her at all. Balls like this were stupid anyway.

She awaited desperately for the end of class. She was anxious about seeing her grade on her Charms exam next class.

When class finally ended, Laurena skidded out the door as fast she could.

But a hand reached out to stop her.

Tom.

The classroom around them was empty, every student having left and Slughorn having slipped out to deliver something to Headmaster Dippet.

"Can we talk?" His voice was emotionless.

Laurena checked the time. "I guess." she said.

"I want to...know something."

Laurena predicted him asking something concerning the events of Slughorn's party the month before.

"Uh, okay." Laurena took a deep breath. _Why is he wasting my time? I could be in Charms right now and-_

"Will you go to the ball with me?"


End file.
